Stand Up for a Coal-Free Oakland 12/8

UPDATE: The City Council may delay action from the December 8th meeting. A teach-in will also be part of this action, and it will continue to take place.

A broad coalition--including 350 Bay Area activists--has spent the last 6 months fighting the influence of private developers and coal companies at Oakland City Hall. These special interests want to export millions of tons of coal through Bay Area communities for shipment overseas from a new terminal on the Oakland waterfront. Their plan is to use public land and millions of taxpayer dollars to enrich a handful of private individuals - while worsening our air quality and adding to the global climate crisis.

The Oakland City Council has the power to block the dirty coal deal. They set December 8th as a deadline for themselves to take action on this issue - though action may now be delayed. We need to stand strong on December 8th and demand immediate action on this urgent issue. Will you stand with us?

Community pressure is working. In September, the City Council acknowledged thousands of community petitions by hosting a public hearing on the potential health and safety impacts of local coal exports. In partnership with dozens of faith, labor, community health, climate science, and environmental justice groups, we succeeded in turning out hundreds of Oakland residents to speak out against the coal-export plan.

The City Council is now reviewing the testimony and evidence presented at that hearing, and has promised to make a decision soon on whether to allow coal exports through this new development in Oakland. Let's hold them to that promise, and help them make the right decision.